Ducks lament slow start, prepare for future

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Teemu Selanne insists the Anaheim Ducks really are the team that surged through the past 3½ months with one of the NHL's best records, not the sad-sacks who bumbled into an inescapable hole in the standings during the final months of 2011.

While the Ducks packed up their lockers Monday after missing the playoffs for the second time in three years, the front office turned its attention to the essential question of the Ducks' offseason: Which of those two teams will show up for camp in September if this talented roster stays largely intact?

"There's no question we feel like we're a playoff team, but it just seemed like in the first half of the year, everything went down," said the 41-year-old Selanne, who led the Ducks with 66 points. "It didn't turn around until it was too late. Sometimes it doesn't work, and somebody has to pay the price."